General George S. Patton and John Quincy Adams were poets. Churchill was a painter. Karol Wojtyla, the Polish priest who became Pope John Paul II, was, in his younger days, a playwright, director and stage actor, as was Vaclav Havel. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the German priest who just became Pope Benedict XVI plays classical piano and is (like Karl Barth) a Mozart aficionado. Jefferson designed Monticello. Secretary of State Dean Acheson was an accomplished woodworker. The young Theodore Roosevelt was a taxidermist. Albert Schweitzer was a world-class organist and Bach scholar.
And so on. Do you see a pattern here?
One of the secrets of the Great Men of the past is that they cultivated creativity and artistic expression in their lives. Sometimes the Great Men consciously chose a craft or a fine art as an outlet, a creative diversion from the intensity of their daily lives. And sometimes the Great Men had no particular objective in pursuing creative expression, it just simply happened as an overflow of who they already were. They created, just as day follows night.
You can be creative, too, and reap the incredible benefits. That is, if you use the right tools.
My new web site, http://www.ConversationFromthePast.com, will help you live a creative life of adventure and challenge you to expand your horizons and reach new frontiers. At Conversations From the Past, men are challenged, edified and encouraged to embrace what Theodore Roosevelt called The Strenuous Life.
We challenge each other to live lives of steadfast resolution, to overcome obstacles, to win in spite of a thousand repulses or defeats, to never fear to try a new line of attack because of a previous setback.
We urge each other to grasp, to rise and struggle, even against incalculable odds, to attempt, to make the bold move.
We also recognize that as we live the lives that we desire, we will also be the object of begrudging, resistance, hostility and resentment. Bold, intensely masculine lives create friction. It is not just historical irony that the greatest peacemakers in the history of the world have met with violent death; it is simply the way of this world.
One of the best ways to deal with these difficulties, these assaults, is to seek a creative outlet, an artistic expression.
But, you rightfully ask, how do I get started? Great question. The answer is surprisingly simple.
Just start and don’t look back. As Churchill wrote of his own painting career (which was by any standard very successful, especially since he had a few other things on his plate):
[T]he first quality that is needed is Audacity. There really is no time for the deliberate approach.
In other words, if you feel like painting, do what Churchill did: get out the paints, buy some canvas and get started. When you make a mess, then go do some background reading on techniques, identify where you went wrong and then forge ahead again, this time without making precisely the same mistake. By trial and error you will quickly get the basic skills you need in order to satisfyingly express your creativity through your painting.
Creativity, craftsmanship and aesthetic expression are surely ends in themselves. We should not forget that. But even while they are ends in themselves, they serve the purpose of re-focusing the mind on something other than the day-to-day cares.
If you are fighting the good fight on a daily basis, and you take up, for example, woodworking, you have little choice but to solely concentrate on woodworking when you are doing it. If your focus slips, you might not only ruin your project, you might lose a finger. The point being, this re-focus will have a rejuvenating effect on you and will in turn do wonders for your “real” career.
Taking up an art or a craft at this point in your life also fulfills that unique masculine virtue of learning, of charging forward, of incrementally expanding your dominion over the world, pushing your boundaries, living without fear, paralysis and boredom. Men should know how to do things, lots of things. They should constantly learn, create, expand – and teach.
As General Patton often remarked, “I don’t want to hear anything about holding your ground. We must advance!”
I recently had a party conversation with a psychiatrist who explained that it is a demonstrable scientific fact that if an adult takes up music for the first time, the brain will literally begin to show activity in areas which were previously underutilized. I don’t know about you, but I think using more of my brain seems like a pretty good idea!
If you visit my web site, http://www.Conversationsfromthepast.com, you will find products and resources based upon the life of the Great Men which will inspire and challenge you to fulfill your God-given potential. You will not find trendy psychological theories or therapies. You will find time-tested, battle-hardened tools you need to forge a life which is passionate, adventurous, intensely masculine, exciting and yes, creative.
You will not be coddled or told that it’s ok to continue sitting on the sofa watching Survivor when you should be out challenging the elements yourself.
You will not find a place where you get “A’s” for effort. As Yoda said, “Do or do not. There is no try.” If you like that attitude and are ready to get serious, come on over and join us at ConversationsFromthePast.com.
But to get the benefits from ConversationsFromthePast.com, you have to start. Visit today and you will be able to sign up for some free gifts, including a free daily email tip.
Yes, daily. That’s thirty tips a month. That’s a lot of information – and a lot of work for yours truly. For that reason, I am not going to leave my tips as free for too much longer. So act now.
Great Men know how to take action. You know what to do. I look forward to striving with you, serving you, and creatively fulfilling our destinies, forging our identities as men together, iron sharpening iron.
Mark Cole
Copyright 2005 Corsair Enterprises LLC
About the Author
Mark Cole is an attorney and lives near Magnolia, Texas (population 1,111) with his wife, Shona, son Matthew, daughters Lily Kate and Laura, and two dogs. After growing up in the Texas panhandle, Cole earned degrees from Baylor, Yale Divinity School, Notre Dame Law School and the University of Houston Law Center. To learn more about how the Great Men can inspire and motivate you, please visit http://www.ConversationsFromthePast.com.